Tour d'Burg 2010

We participated in a 25 mile bike ride a few weekends ago up in the 'Burg. The interesting thing about the Tour d'Burg ride is that there's not much of it that's actually in the 'burg. It starts and ends in Miamisburg, but the majority of the ride is through some surrounding towns.
JJ had to preform some minor surgery (aka bike maintenance) on my Dolce before we got started. I was having some trouble shifting into the larger gears, which is not so great when you're gearing up for a road ride. But because JJ is a rock star and knows how to fix just about anything, he was able to get the Dolce back in good shape in no time.

JJ's Dad and his wife joined us for the second year. We all joked that we could just skip the 25 mile ride and instead ride down to a local greasy spoon for breakfast, but since we'd all already paid our registration fees, we pushed through the early morning fatigue and all loaded up on the bikes ready for a fun morning.

That's the best part about being out on the bike. Once you get started, it's like there's this energy that sets in and you're crusin' along, enjoying the miles as they're racking up. I felt really good out there on the Dolce this year. We enjoyed a leisurely pace for the first 12 miles, enjoying the scenery along the route. One fun part about the beginning of the ride is that one of my work buddies and his girlfriend came up to the 'Burg this year for the ride. It was really fun to start off riding with them and showing them that area that I call my hometown.

We hit the rest stop at the half way point and enjoyed some refreshingly cold water and gatorade. I remembered from last year's ride, that the rest stop also had some sweet trail mix, so I was happy to see that it was there this year too - it was tasty! We caught up some friends who were riding the 50 mile ride so it was great to see them and hear how their day was going.
After we re-fueled, we got back in the saddle and headed out for the remainder of the ride. Overall, it was an awesome day spent with family and friends. After the ride, we cruised the vendor area and chilled out at TJ Chumps restaurant for the afternoon. Chumps is fun place hang out after the ride because their patio sits right along the official race course for the professional riders. So, as we were enjoying some adult beverages, every few minutes a huge pack of cyclist would fly by as they were competing in the different races.

I finished the 100 MS Bike Ride!

The 2008 MS Bike Ride was a great adventure this past weekend!  The start time is always early (we got up at 6am) and still didn't get there in time for the group picture...but we made it to the YMCA in Lebanon for the start time of 7:30am.  It is so great to see all the riders on Day One, so excited, a little nervous, just ready for the adventure of the day out on the road.  

And what a day it was, the weather started out great, a bit over cast & cloudy, but man did the skies open up around Mile 35...first like sprinkles of rain came down, okay no big deal...I've ridden in the rain before.  At this point I was still on pace to attempt the 75 mile route, but then the rain started down pouring...loud rumbles of thunder, cracks of lightening...I've never ridden in conditions like this.  Kind of scary actually, we finally got to the rest stop and gathered with the others under the open air shelter.  At this point, I wasn't interested in continuing to ride in these wet conditions - and the organizers decided to close the longer route, so after the rain let up, everyone got back on the route and rode back to the YMCA.  

One fun highlight of Day One's route was the ride past the Solid Rock Church along I-75...and if you know this area, you'll know that I'm about to show you a picture of what I like to refer to as the "Touchdown Jesus Statue"!  Others have named it "Big Butter Jesus", which is good too, and of course I had to detour off the route for just a second to capture a photo in front of this awesome site!

I'm thankful for my riding buddies through the weekend...I call us "The Three Musketeers"!  Only this year, Andy decided to become a "Beast on the Bike".  Last year, we were all riding at the same pace, mostly at the same cadence, but Andy got himself a new bike and took off this year!  It was awesome to see him pound up the hills and we mostly only saw him at the rest stop (only b/c he waited for us!!).  

The route for Day Two of the ride was a bit more challenging than Day One...more hills and steeper climbs, in fact the 1st hill was so tough that many of the riders (myself included) had to hop off the bike and walk up the windy roadway.  Despite some challenges with my chain & gears not cooperating, I pushed through the miles and finished strong one the 50 mile route for the grand total of riding just over 100 miles, over the 2 day weekend event.  I feel very accomplished to have completed this ride for the second year and to help raise money to benefit the MS Society. 

Thank you to everyone to has encouraged me to keep going with my training and a special shout out to everyone who donated to my fundraising web page!   

MS Ride this weekend!

It's here - the MS 150 Bike Ride is this Saturday & Sunday. I'm very excited for the new route and looking forward to meeting lots of new people along the ride.  My Dolce is going to be a great bike have this year and I know it will allow for a comfortable ride.   

Thanks to everyone for your support and donations that have been made to my fundraising webpage.  I'll post lots of pics from this year's ride for everyone to see.  Thanks again for all the words of encouragement!!

Enjoy this picture from last year's finish line:

Training Ride Update:

Over the weekend we had our group training ride and cookout to get pumped up for the MS Ride in July.

It was hosted by one of our team members, who has a beautiful home in Villa Hills, KY. Note that I said Villa Hills, so yep you can bet there were lots of hills along the ride!

Now about those hills, I've been riding my Dolce on many occasions and was feeling that I was pretty ready for the MS Ride, however after this past weekend's ride, I feel like I've been hit by a bus! I tried riding up a road called Amsterdam Rd. and boy was it an eye opener....talk about some serious windy hills. 

It seemed like it was never going to end and I felt like I was never going to make it to flat road. I didn't even make it a quarter a the way up the hill and had to get off and walk the bike the rest of the way up the hill! I was really bummed to have to get off the bike, but I still felt like I was getting a work out...at one point I was dripping with so much sweat, I'm sure I lost 5 pounds!

I have to admit that I didn't feel well the whole ride...but I powered through it and even though I had to walk up Amsterdam Rd., I did finish out the ride on the bike and overall it felt good to power through the tough parts.

I'm sure the cookout was great, but I was so beat from the hill & not feeling so great that we had to leave early. I certainly didn't want to be sick in front of everyone!!

The MS Ride is only 2 weeks away and after this ride I'm leaning toward the 50 miles each day, but we'll see how I'm feeling on Day 1 of the ride! Hopefully I'll feel better and at least try to ride the 75 miles on the first day....then maybe 50 miles the second day?!?!

Click this link to my fundraising page if you're interested in making a donation to the MS Society.

 

Rabbit Hash...Where's That?

I'm glad you asked ... Rabbit Hash is a tiny river town in KY, that has a dog for it's mayor! That's right, Junior, a black lab was elected mayor of this town back in 2004. Over 3,000 people voted for this playful pup. Junior is known for his public appearances where you can offer him a shake of the paw or even a scratch behind the ear!


You may still be wondering how I know about this delightful town, well it was on a training ride a few weekends ago that my biking buddies and I rode into this area. We were enjoy the beautiful morning riding along these back country roads when we pulled up the the Rabbit Hash General Store for a quick stop to rest our tired legs. (See pic below)


Now you see it's not just Junior that makes this town so unique. The General Store is celebrating over 175 years in business. So you can just imagine all the "characters" that have walked in & out of this great shop! The store offers many authentic Kentucky items and Rabbit Hash memorbilia. They even list several 'barn dances" on the event calendar whero locals gather to stomp their feet to some real authentic country & blue grass music. The afternoon we rode through, a guy was setting up a huge grill to throw on some hot dogs and burgers to sell to patrons that frequently stop by this gem of a town. It's not only a popular spot for cyclists, it also ranks high on the list of stops for many motorcyclists traveling though these beautiful KY roads.


If you ever find yourself in Rabbit Hash, take a little time to check out this unique town. Pull over, stop off and say hey to Junior, the Mayor, and visit the General Store for some really great people watching and relaxing time along the Ohio river.

Update on Junior, the Mayor of Rabbit Hash
5/29/08:
Junior's owner reports that the lovable black lab has passed away. Just 2 days shy of his 13th birthday, Junior died on May 17th. I learned that in 2006, Animal Planet aired a special about Junior and his life as Mayor of Rabbit Hash.

My Dolce...

Below is a pic of the new road bike I'm riding this year.  This awesome bike was a Christmas gift from JJ and it's a great ride.  It's made by the Specalized company and it is the entry level road bike in the women's design.  The Dolce provides a smooth, comfortable ride and like any road bike, has several gears to use to work through as you're riding up those long hills!

My biggest ride this summer will be participating in the MS 150 Bike Ride.  This is an annual ride that raises money for the MS Society.  The course starts and ends in Lebanon, OH and follows a "figure eight" loop.  I'll be riding 150 miles, over a 2 day period - 75 each day, to raise money for this great organization.  My goals is to finish the 75 miles each day, although there is the option to ride 50 miles each day, instead of the 75.  

I've started my training rides, and so far things are going great.  I'll be posting about those rides, upcoming rides and some of the interesting places I've taken "my dolce"...